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So I love yoga. It’s numerous health benefits are undeniable. It’s a great way to relax, rejuvenate,
meditate, relieve stress and stay in shape.
But it’s really expensive! For
those of us who love yoga but can’t afford $100+/mth for classes, what’s to be
done?
Last month I found a way to take
as many classes as I wanted, and at any time I wanted, so I wasn’t beholden to
a studio.
So first I have to tell you my
journey with yoga began when I was like 12.
I saw Gerda Krebs doing yoga with her fluffy cat and beautiful view on
her show, Yoga Fits In, on Shaw TV back
in the early ‘90s (Canadians in their 30s, 40s and 50s might get the reference). From then on I would tune in and try my best
to get my head between my knees the way Gerda did.
Holy smokes you should have seen
Gerda go! She would have been like 60
then, and could do things that, even at the peak of my nearly 20yr dance
career, I wasn’t flexible enough to do.
Incidentally, Gerda is over 80
now and STILL teaching yoga at the Yoga forToday studio in Alberta! If I were nearby
I would totally pay anything to take classes with Gerda because she’s the
reason I started yoga in the first place.
But I digress…
Let’s face it, at $10-20 a class,
yoga is a shi shi luxury and not for the financially distressed.
A friend recently recommended MyYogaOnline.com to
me. I looked into it, decided to sign
up, and I’m totally loving it right now.
It’s $10/mth for unlimited yoga, pilates, meditation and tai chi classes. As long as you have internet you can watch it
any time, any place you want (or you can download individual videos)
They also have free programs
(i.e. 8 day spring cleanse) that you can sign up for and get daily tips,
recipes and classes for, as well as an online community you can chat with.
I’ve been doing 15-20 morning
flow classes every morning and it has been wonderful for getting me out of bed
and setting up my day. I’ve actually
been more productive on days when I start the day with yoga because I feel more
purposeful.
Oh, and they’re running a 14 day
program right now leading up to Valentine’s Day on how yoga can help you have
better sex, with or without a partner... *nudge nudge wink wink, say no more*
So here’s the deal, if you go to this invite page,
you can get 2 weeks totally free to try it out (no credit card or obligation required).
Then you can decide if you want to do a month by month or full year
deal.
Now in the interest of full
disclosure, if you sign up for a trial on this page, I get one
month free. However, you are under absolutely no obligation to buy anything! I
get one month free just for you signing up for a trial. That’s all. If you do sign up for a membership, you can offer your friends
this too.
You don’t need to sign in just to
poke around their site and read some of the articles, but you won’t get to
watch full videos, you’ll only get previews.
To get you started, I’ve linked some of my favorite short videos so far
(15-25 min)
Thisone is a vigorous morning flow, good for days when you need to be energized
(good for beginner – intermediates)
This one is goodfor a more relaxing wake up, like a lazy Sunday morning (beginners –
intermediates)
What I really like about both is
that they emphasize “setting your intention for the day”, i.e. focusing on a
word or concept that you want to guide your day. For me this is often something garbled like “motivated,
get stuff done, just do it, check things off your To Do list, stop
procrastinating” but I find that even that helps.
Thisone is a nice way to end the day. With
this one I light some candles, turn off the light, and do it right before
bed. It makes me feel like a sleepy
cat!
Now I’m not saying this totally replaces
the yoga studio. If I could afford it, I’d
probably be at the studio because it’s nice to be able to get feedback on
whether you’re doing the movements correctly or not. I’m always for supporting local businesses,
too. Although, in a way I guess I am
supporting “local” instructors as it turns out I know one of two of the
teachers online from my home town!
How do you get your exercise? Are
you trying something new for 2013?
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And don't forget, the raffle to win a copy of Pauli Halstead's new cookbook Primal Cuisine is open until Feb 7. You can read more about it, and enter here to win!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Nice info! I also love yoga and do this exercise regularly. It’s truly can increase our body strength and make joint flexible.back pain and neck pain
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely going to look into this, it sounds great. For less "traditional" yoga-style exercise, I often go to the Chatelain Magazine webstie for short 10 minute routines
ReplyDeleteI really like myyogaonline because it allows you to search by a variety of methods - including length of the class, so if I want a 10 minute session I can find it, or a 5 minute meditation, or almost anything, really. I still use it a lot and it's been over a year since I registered :)
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